Musical instrument



March 19, 1957 R. A. SMITH MUSICAL. INSTRUMENT 4 Sheets-Sneet l FiledOct. 24, 1955 Q7 .4 38 j INVENTOR.

P055127 HSM/TH March 19, 1957 R. A. SMITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 4Sheets-Sneet 2 Filed Oct. 24. 1955 flTTOBNEYS March-19, 1957 R. A. SMITH2,785,595

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Oct. 24, 1955 4 Shets-Sneet s Q N I ME.

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March 19, 1957 R. A. SMITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORROBERT H. Sm TH Filed Oct. 24, 1955 Fig. 2.

United States Patent MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Robert A. Smith, Seattle, Wash.Application October 24, 1955, Serial No. 542,250

7 Claims. (Cl. 84-402) This invention relates to musical instruments,and it has reference more particularly to an instrument that is equippedwith a keyboard comprising keys, arranged like those of a piano, andwhich instrument is adapted to be played substantially in the samemanner as a piano is played, and wherein the musical tones produced aremade by the picking or plucking of metal rods or vibrators and are likethose produced by the reeds in the playing of an old fashioned type ofmusic box.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an instrument ofthe above character wherein a novel form of plectrum mechanism isassociated with each of the individual rods or vibrators and eachmechanism is individually actuated by a key of the keyboardcorresponding thereto.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an instrument asabove stated, characterized by the combination of the tone producingrods; the rod plucking or plectrum mechanisms, and the keys of thekeyboard for the actuation of the plectrum mechanisms that operate muchafter the fashion of a piano to produce musical tones which are likethose of a music box.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an instrumentof the above stated character wherein the ends of the rod pickingelements or fingers as associated with the individual rods, are given anendwise and rotary motion, to engage their ends with the rod ends inpassing, and wherein the plectrum mechanisms are energized by thepressing of the fingerboard keys corresponding theret0.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention reside in theprovision of a musical instrument that is easily portable; that ispractical for use as an instrument for adult entertainment as well asfor chlidren, and which is relatively inexpensive.

Still further objects of the invention reside in the details ofconstruction and in the ararngement of its plectrum mechanisms and intheir mode of operation, as will hereinafter be fully described.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I haveprovided the improved details of construction,

the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a musical instrument embodied by thepresent invention, a part of an endwall of the enclosing housing or casebeing broken away to illustrate the construction and location of itssound box.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, cross-section of a part of the instrument takenin a vertical plane and showing keys of the keyboard and the rod pickingor plectrum mechanisms.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken substantially on line 3-3 inFig. 2, showing the arrangement and relationship of plectrum mechanismactuating levers, relative to the keys of the keyboard.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 44 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 in Fig. 6 is anenlarged horizontal section taken on line 6-6 in Fig. 2, showing thecrank mounting of a rod plucking finger.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the rod holding andadjusting clamps.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of two of the keys and their plectrumactuating means.

Ref rring more in detail to the drawings:

In its present preferred form of construction, the instrument of thisinvention is as shown in Fig. 1. It comprises what, if desired, may be adecorative enclosing case or housing having a front wall 10, back wall11, opposite end walls i2i2, a bottom formed in two sections, atdifferent levels and designated respectively at 13 and 13' and top wall14. Also, the case includes as a part thereof, a hinged :lid 14xcomprised of parts that can be closed over the keyboard portion andwhich, in its open position, serves as a music rack. Set within the casesomewhat above the bottom, is a horizontal baseboard or floor 15 whichdivides the case into an upper or key compartment 16 and a lower orplectrum and vibrator containing compartment 17. The sound box isdesignated at 13x and it is loca.ed immediately below the bottom section13' which forms the top thereof. Set within the compartment 16 are thekeys which make up the keyboard; this being designated in its entiretyin Fig. l by reference character K.

It will be understood, more particularly by reference to Fig. 2, thatthe keyboard is disposed in the forward portion of the case between thelevels of the top wall 14 and the horizontal floor plate 15, and is madeup of a succession of individually operable keys like those of a pianokeyboard, and intended to be actuated in the same manner. The white keysare herein designated by numeral 18 and the black keys by numeral 19.

Mounted within the case, upon the rearward and slightly elevated section13 of the case bottom, and in rows that are parallel with and relativelyclose to the back wall 11, are the tone producing elements 20. Each ofthese is in the form of a short resilient rod of vibrant metal,independent of the others, and clamped at its rearward end, andhorizontally and forwardly directed from the upper end of a short,vertical post 21 that, in-turn, is rigidly and adjustably fixed upon thebottom wall section 13. All rods 2%) of the same row are so mounted asto normally be parallel with each other and to extend in the same plane,and also after adjustment, their free ends are substantially inalignment.

It is shown in the drawings that the rods 20 are clamped at theirrearward ends between the fiat upper end surfaces of their mountingposts 21 and securing caps 21' that are applied thereover and drawn downtight by a pair of laterally spaced screw bolts 2222 that are applied,as

shown in Fig. 7, through the caps and are threaded into the posts. Eachrod is brought to proper tone by its endwise adjustment and thesuccession of rods are properly tuned to the tones of the chromaticscale. In the present device, the keyboard covers a range of fiveoctaves, but it might be of more or less extent.

in order to eifect a line accurate adjustment of each rod, 1 provideeach post 21 with a rod adjusting screw 23 that is threaded into thepost at the side opposite that from which the rod extends with the flatunder surface of its head portion 23 engaged against the rod end, whichis projected slightly beyond the clamp block. In making an adjustment,the rod is first held by the cap rather loosely, then it is plucked tosound a tone and while vibrating, the screw is tightened to cause itshead to push that end of the rod inwardly and the vibrating end of therod outwardly. When the tone drops to that desired, the cap bolts aredrawn down tight to secure the adjustment.

In the preferred arrangement of rods 29, those which correspond to thewhite keys of the instrumentand those which correspond to the black keysare arranged in separate rows. Those for the white keys are mounted in arow that is forward of the row for the black keys and also iat a lowerlevel. This arrangement is not of necessity but is to give betterclearance and an easier assemb 'q t a sin the playing of the instrument,the rods 20 are picked, or plucked at their ends; this being incident tothe pressing down of keys of the keyboard corresponding thereto, as inthe playing of a piano. The picking or plucking is accomplished by useof plectrum mechanisms as shown in figs 2 and 5. it is herein shown thatall keys 18 and 19 of the keyboard rest pivotally intermediate theirends on in horizontal center rail 24 that extends from end to end of thecase and which is secured upon the horizontal floer each key being heldin position on the rail by a vertical post 25 fixed in the'rail andextended ppwardly therefrom to loose fit into a slot 26 formedvertically through the key. At their inner ends, all keys havecounterweights 2'7 fixed thereto whereby, after being depressed orstruck and released, they will be brought back to normal position ofrest with their rear ends engaged against a padded bar 28 that is fixedin the case along the rear wall 11. The arrangement and design is suchas to approximate as near as possible the touch of the standard pianokeyboard.

Associated with each key is a plectrum or rod plucking mechanism whichis actuated upon the striking of the key, to cause the corresponding rodto be plucked. All mechanisms are substantially alike and therefore thefollowing description as applied to a white key operated mechanism willapply equally to the black key operated mechanisms.

Located below the floor plate 15 and in the vertical plane of a whitekey 18, is a lever 30. All levers 3.0 are coextensive and are pivotedsubstantially medial of their ends on a horizontal rod 31 that issupported at spaced intervals along its length by a plurality oftriangular brackets 32 fixed to the bottom wall 13. The forward end ofeach lever 30, that being the end at the left hand side in Fig. 2, islocated directly below the forward or finger engaged end portion of thecorresponding key 18, and is adapted to be engaged and downwardlyactuated by a vertical post 33 which extends freely through a paddedopening 34 in the horizontal floor 15, resting at its lower end upon theforward end of lever 30, and having its upper end engaging the key in asocket 35 formed in its underside. When the key 18 is struck as inplaying, it actuates the corresponding lever 30 from a horizontalposition in which it is normally resting to an upwardly and rearwardlyinclined position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The forwardend of the lever then engages a stop 36 supported from the front wall ofthe case.

Mounted directly below the rearward end portion of each lever 30 andextended in the same direction thereof, is a plectrum 37 for thecorresponding rod 20. Each plectrum 37 is in the form of a bar or leverwith a flat under surface 37] at its forward end resting for guidedtravel upon a roller 38 supported between the upper ends of verticalplates 39 fixed upon the bottom wall section 13. Near its rearward end,the plectrum lever is sup ported by the throw of a crank 4%} betweenspaced supports 4141 that are fixed upon the bottom section 13'. Thecrank 40 is mounted for rotary action by which the plectrum lever isgiven a reciprocal action and at the same time so moved that itsrearward end portion is caused to follow in a substantially circularpath such as that indicated by the dash line circle 43 shown in Fig. 2.

The rearward end of the lever 30 is connected With'the rearward end ofthe corresponding plectrum lever 37 by means of a flexible hanger 44.Also, as shown in Fig. 2, each plectrum lever 37 is connectedintermediate its supports by a link 45 with one end of a tensioningspring 46 4 that is fixed to the bottom section 13' near the cranksupports.

The above described manner ,of mounting the levers, and manner ofconnecting them with each other and with spring 46 is such that when akey 18 is struck or depressed in playing, the corresponding lever 36 isrocked on the pivot shaft 31, and its rearward end is swung upwardly,pulling the rearward end of the plectrum upwardly. The rotary movementof the supporting crank 46 causes the plectrum lever 37 to be swungrearwardly and upwardly, thus causing the pointed rear end portion 37xthereof, in passing, to pluck the free end ofthe corresponding rod 20.When the plectrum lever has reached the upper limit of its circulartravel, the spring tension and crank action is such as to carry itforwardly across the top of the arc of travel and then to return it andlever 39 to normal position ready for a subsequent actuation.

The proper plucking of the tone producing rods 2a is dependent tocertain extent on the proper adjustment of the rod supporting posts 21toward or from the plectrum levers 37. In order thatsuch adjustment maybe effected easily and speedily, Ihave provided special mountings foreach post 21, as has been-shown in Fig. 2 wherein it is noted that theposts are engaged flatly and slidably against the floor l3 and also areslidable on threaded rods 60 that extend horizontally therethrough.These rods are fixed at their ends in blocks 61-61 bolted to the floor.Nuts 62 are threaded on the rods and are adjustable therealong to pushthe posts toward the plectrum levers and to hold them when set at aproper position for best plucking action.

A black key operated plectrum has been shown in Figs. 2 and 9 along withthe previously described white key operated mechanism which will not bedescribed in detail since the mechanism already described appliesequally thereto. However, to differentiate the black key operatedmechanism from the white key mechanism, the reference numerals asapplied thereto correspond to those applied to part-s of the-white keyactuated mechanism butreach is supplemented by letter b-.

The principal elements of the present invention are shown in Fig. 2 andit is in their combination and mode of operation in combination with thekeys of the keyboard that the novelty resides.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a musical instrument of the character described having a keyboardcomprising individually operable keys; a vibratory tone producing rodcorresponding to each key fixed at one .end in a mounting post, andextended from its mounting for vibratory action, a movably mountedplectrum lever for each rod, and a crank shaft mounting for vone end ofeach plectrum lever, operable by the depressing of a key of the keyboardto impart rotary motion to the corresponding crank shaft to actuate itsplectrum lever whereby one end of said lever will be moved in an orbitthat will cause it to pluck the end of the rod in passing it.

2. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein each plectrum lever isdisposed substantially in alignment with the corresponding toneproducing rod, and is supported at the end thereof which is farthestfrom the rod for endwise sliding movement, and has the crank-shaftmounting adjacent its opposite end portion whereby that end of the leveris caused to move in an orbit when rotary motion'is imparted to thecrank shaft mounting by the depression of the corresponding key.

3. The musical instrument of claim 2 wherein a rocker lever is supported.above and along each plectrum lever, with a flexible lifting connectionat one end with the crank shaft supported end of the plectrum lever, andwherein depression of the key actuates the rocker lever to lift theplectrum lever'through the initial portion of its orbital travel for theplucking of the tone producing rod, and spring means acts yieldingly oneach plectrum lever to return it to a position of rest after actuationby the corresponding rocker lever.

4. The musical instrument of claim 3 wherein said spring means isconnected to the plectrum lever under tension, between the points ofsupport of said lever and acts in a direction opposite to the liftingaction of the rocker lever.

5. The musical instrument of claim 3 wherein each rod has an individualmounting post, and each post is supported for movement to adjust thefree end of the rod relative to the orbital path of the end of thecorresponding plectrum lever.

6. In an instrument of the character described, a tone producing rod, amounting means for the fixed support of said rod with a vibratoryportion extending from the clamp for contact by a plectrum movablethrough a fixed orbit to contact with the rod end, means for adjustingthe mounting means of the rod to adjust the position of the end of therod relative to the orbital path of the plectrum; said mountingincluding a clamp and said rod being adjustable in the clamp to shortenor lengthen the vibratory portion thereof to establish the pitch of thetone produced thereby.

7. In a musical instrument of the character described, having a keyboardcomprising individually operable keys; at vibratory ton'e producing rodcorresponding to each key fixedly mounted at one end and extended freefrom said mounting, a plectsum lever mounted in alignment with each rod,having a roller support at the end which is farthest from the rod, and acrank shaft form of support at its other end whereby that end of thelever is caused to travel in an orbit when motion is imparted thereto,and to pluck the end of the corresponding rod in making its orbit,spring means attached under tension to said plectrum lever between itssupports to return it to position of rest after actuation, a rockerlever mounted above each plectrum lever, means connecting one end of therocker lever with the end of the plectrum lever that has the orbitalmotion, and means operable by the key corresponding to the rocker leverfor striking its outer end upon depression of the key to impart motionto the plectrum lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,992,317 Loar Feb. 26, 1935 1,995,316 Loar Mar. 26, 1935 FOREIGNPATENTS 93,553 Germany Aug. 14, 1897 98,240 Germany July 12, 1898

